On to Tampa Bay I

After raising the mast and refreshing ourselves at Dog River, we continued our journey on November 17. We cruised down the Mobile Ship Channel and then crossed over to join the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GICW). Along the route we found LuLu's, a restaurant operated by Jimmy Buffet's sister. Here the GICW is narrow, a canal really. Fifty-seven miles later we anchored in the lee of Perfido Key.

We dinghied ashore and found our way through the dunes to the Gulf side and one of the most striking beaches on our trip. While it was late, we were able to enjoy cocktail hour and some shelling before we had to leave.

Sunsets are beautiful along beaches and this one proved to be spectacular. This is only one of many such pictures that can only suggest the true experience.

Here we have the sailing crews posing on the beach. Happy and tired, but certainly undaunted, we were ready to get back to our boats on the other side of the dunes and get ready for tomorrow's adventure. At this point and since Dog River, we were traveling with three other sailboats, Windy Affair, Lady E, and Aerie. Annette is taking the picture and Mac was down the beach.

Mac was one of the Canadian Captains. Annette and I thought of him as our Canadian Skip. Here he is striding down the Perdido Key Beach.